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9 Minimalist & Aesthetic K-Beauty Brands You Need

June 9, 2018

I feel like in the K-beauty skincare world (especially on Instagram), two things reign supreme: ingredients & packaging. A lot of K-beauty products have key ingredients that companies use as their USP, however, I noticed that in the past few years, a lot of consumers are being more aware of what's actually inside the entire product. They don't want to just know what the key ingredient is anymore, they want to know the full list of ingredients, the ingredients' EWG ratings and whether or not the ingredients are actually good for their skin type as well (hence websites like CosDNA and Skincarisma). TL:DR, a lot of people are now focusing on the ingredients instead of the flashy packaging.

If you guys noticed, a lot of brands are also moving towards simpler and minimalistic packaging and are instead investing more on research and ingredients. Some examples of earlier "flashier" packaging designs are Tony Moly's Tomatox Cream (that's shaped like a tomato) and Skinfood's sugar scrubs (which literally look like tubs of sugar). Nowadays I feel like most brands are leaning more towards a sleek & aesthetic look. I also feel like a lot K-beauty instagrammers who take flatlays and "shelfie"s tend to like to buy products with minimalist, simple & white packaging because they're easier to match + are easier to shoot.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share 9 K-beauty brands whose products fit the simple and minimalist aesthetic!

1. Tamburins•@tamburinsofficial
Tamburins is a brand inspired by dance, and they're very artsy!

They only have three products (a cream, essence and a hand cream), and I would say their price point is pretty medium (not that affordable, but not too expensive).

Their feed usually has an artsy, rugged feel mixed with images from their sun-inspired showroom:

They also previously did a water-themed campaign in a pool which I really loved:

2. Huxley•@huxley_korea
I think Huxley is currently the most well known brand on this list. They blew up last year and I think their packaging, branding + products are just amazing. Based on the slogan "Good things never came from comfort zones", their skincare is sectioned off into different ranges that are inspired by the Sahara, Morocco and light.

I think what makes them different form Tamburins is that they're more "polished", but not to the point where it looks too commercial. They have a good variety of products and most of them have the signature "Huxley" scent.

They have several brand films that really show off their aesthetic, and I really have to give props to Huxley's creative director. Everything is so high quality, from the style of photography to the sets & locations they go to. Huxley is a brand whom I often stalk to get inspired haha.

Huxley also recently opened their own showroom, and I really hope I get to visit it someday.

3. Abib•@abib.official
Abib comes from the word "grain", and Abib is a brand that is dedicated to perfecting and purifying their products. A lot of their products (like their Hypoderma Serum) contains some patented ingredients that have came from lots of research. They're very technology based, and I feel like their aesthetic is the epitome of minimalist: black & white.

At first, you think their style is very easy to replicate since its so understated. After you try though, you'll see that that's not the case haha. They're very HD & clean, and I love that their photos, products and packaging all reflect that.

4. Althea Korea •@altheakorea
Althea Korea (as most of you all already know) is a Korean cosmetics website that recently started releasing their own products. They started with the Petal Velvet Powder and released a 3-step minimalist skincare range called the Bare Essentials like after that:

I like the gray and white aesthetic of the packaging, and when I first saw it it actually gave me a bit of Muji vibes. I think the Primer Water's packaging is especially cute because it literally looks like a bottle of water, and I also really like me metal/aluminum detailing in the water + cream's packaging.

It's very simple and clean! Since the Bare Essentials line is already complete and most probably will not be expanded, I'm excited to see what Althea's other products/ranges will look like. Will they follow the same aesthetic? Only time will tell!

5. Hyggee•@hyggee_official
Hyggee is the latest brand that I'm currently trying out (watch out for my review this week!). Hyggee's slogan is "All you need is less", and among all 5 brands I've tried, their aesthetic and images seem to be the most lifestyle-esque rather than arsty or minimalist. Their name actually comes from the Danish word hygge, which is the Danish ritual of enjoying life's simple pleasures.

They have a full skincare range and have since expanded to a few variants of essences for different skin types. On their Instagram, you can see that they don't really post much of their own images and often repost their customers' pictures instead. Who can blame them? Their products are just so pretty and instagrammable that I would do the same thing too hahaha.

And that's it for this list! There are a few more brands that I'm keeping my eye on, and hopefully I get to try them out and share about them with you guys in the future too!